Two place seating unit

ABSTRACT

The invention is of a two place seating unit of molded fiberglass. The assembled unit is a unitary structure having a sculptured appearance, which permits the user to sit comfortably whether facing immediately forward of the seating unit or to either side. Cantalever mounting is employed to afford maximum free space beneath the seating consistent with its sculptured appearance.

United States Patent Reineman et a1.

[ Oct. 24, 1972 TWO PLACE SEATING UNIT inventors: Richard G. Reineman,

Calif.; George Muskegon, Mich.

Assignee: Brunswick Corporation Filed: Oct. 2, 1970 Appl. No.: 77,568

Balboa, E. Schaefer,

US. Cl. ..297/232, 297/D1G. 2 Int. Cl ..A47c 5/12 Field of Search ..297/232, 445, DIG. 2, 446,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1969 Gale ..297/349 X 10/1951 Hoven et a1 ..297/D1G. 2 2/1970 Perrin ..297/DIG. 2

3,012,818 12/1961 Brown ..297/446 X 2,025,393 12/1935 Kupfer ..297/ 191 2,845,111 7/1958 Barecki et a1 ..297/DIG. 2 3,230,013 1/ 1966 Morrison et a1. ..297/446 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Attorney-Donald S. Olexa, Jerome M. Teplitz, John G. Heimovics, William G. Lawler, Jr. and Hofgren, Wegner, Allen, Stellman and McCord 1 1 ABSTRACT The invention is of a two place seating unit of molded fiberglass. The assembled unit is a unitary structure having a sculptured appearance, which permits the user to sit comfortably whether facing immediately forward of the seating unit or to either side. Cantalever mounting is employed to afford maximum free space beneath the seating consistent with its sculptured appearance.

7 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented Oct. 24, 1972 3,700,279

3 SHONE-$11991, 1

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Patented Oct. 24, 1972 3,700,219

INVENTORS 680V @556 aej/w ATTORNEY Two PLACE SEATING UNIT BACKGROUND The invention is in the class of multiple seating structures, and more particularly, multiple seating for bowling alleys and the like. Providing comfortable and attractive multiple seating arrangement in area adjacent the delivery end of bowling alleys has been a continuing challenge. One solution was in the familiar bench type seating such as that depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,190 to G. E. Schaefer. A more refined system of multiple seating was taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,662 to the same inventor in which individual chair shells are secured to a common running base structure.

Although these systems functioned satisfactorily, they had an inherent institutional character, lacked comfort, and unnecessarily restricted the positions in which the occupants could comfortably sit.

It is an objective of this invention to provide seating units which are at once comfortable, attractive and economical to manufacture, yet which are extremely durable and resistant to vandalism.

It is a further objective of this invention to provide seating units having a large amount of usable space therebeneath, and free of peripheral obstructions.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide seating which can easily be assembled and installed.

It is another and still further objective of the invention to provide a resilient shock-absorbing mounting system for seating units thereof.

SUMMARY The invention is a twin seat unit comprised of a unitary base portion, a unitary seat portion permanently bonded to the top of the base, and means for mounting the unit to a supporting floor. The base comprises a molded substantially rectangular polyhedron, largest and open at the top. The seat portion comprises a uni tary molded structure open at the bottom, which may include a back support portion. The seat portion is fitted on top of the base, to which it is permanently bonded creating a unitary enclosed structure. The means for mounting the unit comprises a reinforcing plate on the inside of the bottom of the base, and bolts passing therethrough to hold the unit base to the floor. An opening in the seat portion provides access to the interior of the unit through which the mounting bolts can be reached. The seats of the invention extend to the front and sides of the base in the manner of a cantalever, leaving the space thereunder free of obstructions.

A seating unit of the invention assembled and mounted gives the impression of having been sculptured from a solid block of material, and as can be seen from the drawings, has an attractively simple appearance. A principal advantage of the seating units of the invention is that they permit the occupant to face either forward or in varying degrees to the side with equal comfort. This is particularly true for the embodiment of the invention employing the back structure.

Another advantage of the invention is that it can be molded from fiberglass in only two parts, greatly facilitating manufacture.

A further advantage of the seating units of the invention having the back portions is that they may be grouped together attractively in a variety of arrangements, either with or without accessory elements, such as fillet tables.

A still further advantage of the seating of the invention is that it facilitates the flow of people therearound by eliminating front leg supports and all sharp and protruding corners.

Other objectives, advantages, and various further features of novelty and invention will be pointed out or will occur to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken from above and to the left front of a seating unit of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the seating unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially broken away front view of the seating unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a partially broken away end view of the seating unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlargement of the broken away portion of FIG. 4 illustrating a portion of the joint between the seat and base portions of the seating unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along Line 6- 6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a bench type seating unit according to the invention.

FIG. 8 is a partially broken away front view of the left side of the bench of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a partially broken away end view of the bench of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a partially broken away top view of the bench of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

FIG. 1 shows a love seat embodiment of the invention. The love seat is a composite unitary structure comprised of a molded supporting base portion 1 and a molded seat and back portion 2. Portion 2 has seat 9 and 10 therein which may be covered by decorative seat pads 3. An access opening 5 is provided in the top 6 of the back portion 12 of seating section 2, which opening is closed by a cover plate 4.

FIG. 2 best illustrates the general figure eight shape of the seat surface 7, and the two slightly dished seating areas 9 and 10 thereon. The forward area of the seats is unobstructed through approximately 180 degrees, or the area encompassed by angle a illustrated in FIG. 2, from the center bridge 14 joining seats 9 and 10 to the forward lower edge 1 1 of the back 12.

The forward edges 9a and 10a of seats 9 and 10 are generally semi-circular, so that the support provided to an occupants legs remains substantially the same whether he is facing forward or to either side. The back portion 12 arcs across approximately of each seat and provides comfortable support for an occupant of the seat whether facing immediately forward or to the side within the limits previously set forth. This effect is achieved by giving that portion of the back 12 against which an occupant leans an arcuate concave base complimentary to the forward edge of each seat, and sloping it gently upwardly and outwardly from the seat portions 9 and 10. The top 6 of back portion 12 is flat and of such height as to provide a comfortable arm rest for a person of average height when seated facing to either side of the seat. The seat back thus becomes an arm which aids the occupant in entry and egress from the seat.

FIG. 2 additionally illustrates the size relationship between the bottom portion 15 of base 1 and the seat surface 7. The entire base 15 is about half as long as seat portion 7, the ends 16 and 17 thereof falling respectively behind the center points of seats 9 and 10. Base surface 15 is also significantly less in width than the seat portion 2, extending only approximately onethird of the distance between the back surface 18 of the seat and the most forward portions of seats 9 and 10. The horizontal cross-sectional area of base 1 increases from bottom surface 15 to its top peripheral edge 27, as best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4; but flares at the top to mate with seat portion 2. This configuration provides a maximum amount of free space beneath the seats 9 and 10, consistent with shape restrictions inherent in the fiberglass molding process. It is a specific purpose of the invention to provide this space to accommodate bowling ball and shoe carrying bags, or parcels of equivalent or larger size, as a convenience to the seat occupant. A further advantage of this structure is that it offers a minimum of obstruction to persons circulating closely around the arrangements of these seating units, even with the aforementioned articles placed therebeneath.

Referring to FIG. 4, maximum usable space beneath the seats 9 and is further provided by placing the back surface 19 of the base 1 flush with the back surface 18 of seating section 2. This construction requires that base 1 be securely fastened to a supporting floor 20, for although the seat will stand freely, it is not secure and will tip forwardly it an occupant sits only on the forward edge, This construction results in a cantalever type support for seats 9 and 10, which coupled with the resilience of fiberglass gives the seats a degree of flexibility.

One means for affixing the seat to the floor is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. In this configuration, a plate of reinforcing material 21 such as a two-inch thick piece of fiberboard, is placed inside base 1 over substantially the entire inner surface of the bottom face 15. The seat is then secured to the floor 20 by bolts or studs which pass through the reinforcing element 21 and the bottom of base 1 at selected points. By clamping the entire bottom 15 of base 1 to the floor 20, reinforcing plate 21 serves to distribute all forces tending to tip or twist the seat throughout the entire structure of base 1.

The seat is hollow. The structure illustrated is sufficiently self-supporting that no supporting ribs, which complicate the molding process, are required. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the sections may each be molded in a single operation at substantial saving in cost of manufacturing. Fiberglass has proved to be the most satisfactory material for manufacture, however, any moldable material having substantially the equivalent characteristics of strength, rigidity and resiliency may be employed.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a preferred method ofjoining the base 1 to the seating portion 2 of the invention. A shoulder 25 is molded into the inside surface of seating portion 2 a short distance above the lower periphery 26 thereof. The upper periphery 27 of base 1 engages shoulder 25, directly supporting seating section 2. After the insertion of reinforcing plate 21, the base 1 and seating portion 2 are permanently joined with a suitable epoxy glue. This joining may be enhanced by providing a fillet 28 at the curved portions of the joint, such as along the forward edge 9a and 10a of the seats, which is filled with epoxy glue upon assembly.

An access opening 5 is provided in the top 6 of the back 12 of the seat. As can be seen in FIG. 2, opening 5 provides access to the interior of the seat and to the bolts which hold it to the floor. A cover plate 4 is provided to close the access opening 5.

FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 illustrate a bench type embodiment 30 of the invention. The structure of bench 30 is similar to that of the above described love seat, in that it is comprised of a unitary base 31 upon which is permanently affixed a seat portion 32. An access opening 35 and a cover plate 34 are also provided and serve the same functions as previously described in connection with the love seat.

FIGS. 8 and 9 best illustrate the shape of base 31 with relation to seating portion 32. The base 31 of the bench 30 is somewhat longer, in relation to the overall length of the unit, than its counterpart base 1 of the love seat, and is located more forwardly under its seat portions 39 and 40. The bench is therefore somewhat more stable than the love seat when free standing, but should also be bolted to the floor. Like the love seat, the bench presents a minimum of obstruction to persons moving around it, and provides usable space beneath the front portions of the seats 39 and 40.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the upper periphery 36 of the base 31 engages a shoulder 37 on the interior of the peripheral edge 38 of the seating portion 32. As with the love seat, base 31 and seat portion 32 are individually molded of fiberglass, assembled as illustrated and permanently epoxied together.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a reinforcing plate 41 is placed along the bottom of base 31 and the supporting studs 42 for the bench are secured therethrough.

One minor difference between the embodiments of the invention appearing in FIGS. 1 and 7 is the existence of a ridge 44 around base 31 of the bench. This ridge is for decorative purposes only and is not required as a strengthening element.

Seats 9, 10, 39 and 40 are dished slightly. It has been found that this dishing renders the seat more comfortable and helps to prevent one seated on the rather slippery fiber-glass from sliding off. A vinyl covering 3, or a covering of other suitable material may be applied to the circular seating areas 9, 10, 39 and 40 to relieve the occupant of the seat of the feeling of sliding thereon.

It can be observed from the drawings that the horizontal cross-sectional area of the seating units of the invention progressively increases from the bottom surface of the bases thereof to the seating surfaces. This structure, plus the positioning of the base toward the back of the seat, provides a modified cantalever support for the seats. The fiberglass material adds resiliency to the structure and provides the mounted seating units with a shock-absorbing quality which increases comfort and resistance to abuse.

While the method of manufacture of the seating units of the invention described above has been that conventionally used for fiberglass layup, the units can also be blow molded from a variety of thermo-plastics by process well known to those skilled in the art. The units were specifically designed with this process in mind, and so produced would, of course, comprise a single piece unit from the outset with the exception of the cover for the access opening.

Overall, the invention has been found to provide a comfortable and relaxing seat for an occupant while at" fording him maximum mobility with respect to observing the activities taking place around him, and a maximum of usable storage space beneath his seat.

While the principles of the invention have been described in connection with the above specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A seating unit comprising; a unitary supporting base portion, and a unitary seat portion, said base and seat portions being hollow molded shells, said base shell being open at the top and said seat shell being open at the bottom, said openings defining mating peripheral edges; means joining said mating edges together forming a unitary hollow structure having a continuous outer surface substantially free of recesses, and means for anchoring said structure to a supporting floor.

2. The seating unit of claim 1 wherein said means joining said base shell to said seating shell comprises a shoulder around the inside periphery of one of said shells receiving thereupon a segment of the peripheral edge of the other of said shells, and means for bonding said peripheral edge to said shoulder.

3. The seating unit of claim 1 wherein said means for anchoring said unitary molded structure to a supporting floor comprises; a reinforcing plate disposed adjacent the inside bottom surface of said base shell, and means for anchoring said plate to the supporting floor so as to clamp substantially the entire bottom surface of said base shell between said plate and the supporting floor.

4. A seating unit of claim 1 wherein said base portion comprises a rectangular polyhedron smallest in cross section at the bottom and largest at the top with its long axis parallel to the long axis of said seat portion.

5. The seating unit of claim 1 wherein said seat portion comprises two adjacent seats, each of said seats curving outwardly from the center of said seat portion a substantial distance in front of and to its respective side of said base portion.

6. The seating unit of claim 5 wherein said seating portion includes a back portion molded therein extending upwardly therefrom and continuously across the back and around a portion of the sides thereof, said back portion curving outwardly in back of each seat and protruding inwardly therebetween in the general shape of the numeral 3 so as to partially separate said seats from one another.

7. The seating unit of claim 5 wherein said base rectangular polyhedron flares forwardly and to each side at the top to mate with said seating portion, and the lower portions of said base are very substantially smaller in length and width than said seating portion,

and where'n said base is disposed adjacent the c nter rear of S31 seating portion so that the area beneat the front and sides of the seats is clear of all obstructions. 

1. A seating unit comprising; a unitary supporting base portion, and a unitary seat portion, said base and seat portions being hollow molded shells, said base shell being open at the top and said seat shell being open at the bottom, said openings defining mating peripheral edges; means joining said mating edges together forming a unitary hollow structure having a continuous outer surface substantially free of recesses, and means for anchoring said structure to a supporting floor.
 2. The seating unit of claim 1 wherein said means joining said base shell to said seating shell comprises a shoulder around the inside periphery of one of said shells receiving thereupon a segment of the peripheral edge of the other of said shells, and means for bonding said peripheral edge to said shoulder.
 3. The seating unit of claim 1 wherein said means for anchoring said unitAry molded structure to a supporting floor comprises; a reinforcing plate disposed adjacent the inside bottom surface of said base shell, and means for anchoring said plate to the supporting floor so as to clamp substantially the entire bottom surface of said base shell between said plate and the supporting floor.
 4. A seating unit of claim 1 wherein said base portion comprises a rectangular polyhedron smallest in cross section at the bottom and largest at the top with its long axis parallel to the long axis of said seat portion.
 5. The seating unit of claim 1 wherein said seat portion comprises two adjacent seats, each of said seats curving outwardly from the center of said seat portion a substantial distance in front of and to its respective side of said base portion.
 6. The seating unit of claim 5 wherein said seating portion includes a back portion molded therein extending upwardly therefrom and continuously across the back and around a portion of the sides thereof, said back portion curving outwardly in back of each seat and protruding inwardly therebetween in the general shape of the numeral 3 so as to partially separate said seats from one another.
 7. The seating unit of claim 5 wherein said base rectangular polyhedron flares forwardly and to each side at the top to mate with said seating portion, and the lower portions of said base are very substantially smaller in length and width than said seating portion, and wherein said base is disposed adjacent the center rear of said seating portion so that the area beneath the front and sides of the seats is clear of all obstructions. 